this is a great article, but it leaves one to believe that Federer's future is all doom and gloom. i'm surprised he didn't recommend a plan of attack to remedy his issue. he ends claiming that his only chance to become successful again is for him to change his grip, but it would be ridiculous to ask him as he has 13 grand slams under his belt. well, i dont think that is necessary. Nima himself mentioned the solution but didnt call it a solution. he just needs to eliminate pressure.

I can clearly understand Mr. Naderi's contentions regarding Roger's Forehand in relationship to suddenly losing more matches than he's use to. Although there could be some accuracy to his thoughts, I don't see this as the root of demise.

My point is this, everyone is picking apart Federer's game trying to figure out why all of a sudden he's losing matches to Players he's never lost to before. That's a fair question and I admittedly am one of them. But I don't believe there's much about the mechanics of Roger's game that has changed, I must repeat myself by suggesting this drop in performance began almost one year ago, when Roger was not only beaten badly in the Finals of the French by Rafael Nadal but then following that lost up with losing his Crown in the 5th Set of Wimbledon to Nadal as well. I contend that had Roger successfully defended his Wimbledon Title, Roger would still be #1 in the World not because of the points won at Wimbledon but because the one element he has lost would still be with him. Up until Wimbledon, Federer knew Roland Garros was Nadal's House and if he wanted a French Open Title, he would have to go through Nadal to get it but he never thought in a million years that he was going to lose his Wimbledon Crown to Nadal. That is a very different picture, it's like when the Opening Act Band is better than the Headliner. It's just not suppose to happen like that. Well what did happen was Roger lost a serious amount of confidence in that match and for the experienced Players on this Forum, you know what happens when you begin to lose your confidence. Aside from losing matches, you begin to second guess your shots because you are second guessing your overall ability.

You think Roger's Forehand is different? Well maybe it is, just maybe that's the way he strokes the ball when he's afraid to sling out like the Roger of Old.
Yes I agree I've never seen so many forehand errors come off his racquet as i have in the past year but the only thing that's going to bring that forehand back is a good healthy win on Grass hopefully against Nadal.

Rafa is the only Player that can do it for him right now. Roger knows that Nadal will not choke nor will he beat himself. Should Roger & Rafael meet in the Finals of Wimbledon, Nadal will bring it on every point from start to finish and for all of us who want to see Roger regain his form, then we need to see him win Wimbledon or I believe Roger Federer is done for awhile especially should Djokovic pull ahead of his pushing him down to #3.

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

Coach, so you suggest that it is mainly psychological? Roger is mentally damaged?

I believe Roger does have a confidence issue. Think about what happens when your confidence plays a part in your shot selection.

One tends to pull up on various shots, Roger was always one that went all out for the corners but now he's a good 3 ft in from the corners which gives his opponents ample time to get to shots which then means he's hitting more balls then normal which then increases his likelihood of unforced errors.

Naderi contends that Roger's forehand is different than before and he might be on to something because if you're pulling up on shots that's changing the mechanics of your stroke.

Roger lost some huge matches recently. His loss in Monte Carlo was unbelievable. His loss to Wawrinka was unnecessary. Although Wawrinka is a good tennis player, he in no way has the weapons to beat the Roger Federer we all knew. What Federer needs is a good win over a tough player. I think should he get to the Finals of the French, we just might see the old Roger again but I fear that's not going to happen. Hitting Partners isn't going to get you where you need to be either.

Roger needs to go out and blast away Win or Lose. He needs to put his Jevons on the line and just take the shot to rebuild confidence again. There's no other way of doing it.

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.